Benefits of optical fiber include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation. Because of these advantages, optical fiber is increasingly being used for a variety of applications, including but not limited to broadband voice, video, and data transmission. As electronic devices move toward operation at faster data rates the electrical interfaces on these devices along with the electrical transmission cables will reach their bandwidth capacity limitations. Additionally, the electronic devices are trending to smaller and thinner footprints. Optical fibers have displaced copper-based connectivity in much of the traditional long-haul and metro telecommunication networks for numerous reasons such as large bandwidth capacity, dielectric characteristics and the like. As consumers require more bandwidth for consumer electronic devices such as smart phones, laptops, tablets and the like optical fibers and optical ports for optical signal transmission are being considered for replacing the conventional copper-based connectivity for these applications. However, there are significant challenges for providing optical connectivity in consumer devices compared with copper-based connectivity. By way of example, devices such as smart phones, laptops and tablets are exposed to rough handling and harsh environments and the consumer will expect optical connectivity to handle these demanding conditions. Further, these types of devices will require a large number of mating/unmating cycles during their lifetime.
When the fiber optic connector is desired to be optically connected to an optical device, then a mechanical connection may be needed to mechanically secure the fiber optic connector to the optical device. A more secure fiber optic connection permits a better optical connection by ensuring that fiber optic connection is properly aligned between the optical elements of the connector and the optical device but current techniques of a movable optical interface result in fiber wear, bending or fatigue of the optical fibers within the fiber optic connector. The wear, bending or fatigue may cause attenuation or optical fiber damage. Moreover, conventional alignment and securing means used for connectors in telecommunication applications are not intended for the large number of mating cycles that will be experienced by consumer applications. Consequently, there is an unresolved need for optical connections that may be used for relatively small devices like typical consumer applications such personnel devices such as smart phones, tablets and other consumer devices that have a relatively small footprint. The concepts disclosed herein solve this unresolved need for robust optical connections.